At the end of 90 minutes at the Old Trafford, Ed Woodward not Mourinho is the ultimate black sheep of Red Devil’s fold. Manchester United suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham on Monday night with Harry Kane and Lucas Moura on target. While goals are inevitable in football, the manner in which the came highlighted the weakness and fragility of club’s back four.
The club’s inability to land a defender in the summer was exposed by Pochetinno’s side. The first goal by Harry Kane showed how weak Jones have become particularly in aerial ball. The 3 lions center-forward was able to evade the Manchester united defender to get a free header into the back of the net from a corner kick.
When Dele Alli missed a goal chance after Cristian Eriksen crossed the ball from Luke Shaw’s position, the Red Devil’s defense failed to read the handwriting on the wall. Few minutes later Lucas Moura was at the right place and time to convert Eriksen’s cross from the same wing. Lindelof could not keep his cool in the game and twice almost gifted Spurs their third goal. Lindelof gave a poor back pass which Dele Alli failed to convert after intercepting. The defender again gifted Harry Kane a free header from the corner kick. Lucas Moura finally got the third goal after dribbling pass Chris Smalling to expose the club’s woes at the back. Only long term club devotee Antonio Valencia was solid in the game.
The club weakness at the back have been due to their failed attempt to bolster their defense in the last window. These was believed to be due to the inability of the Portuguese tactician and the club Vice-President to reach an agreement on transfer. According to reports, Mourinho wanted a central defender with Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng, Alderweireld and Diego Godin all on his radar, but the Vice-President Ed Woodward responded that the Portuguese raise funds needed for the transfer.
The Manchester club however, were unable to get her choiced central defenders as the activity in the market neither favored departure of her players nor the arrival of new players. The defeat have justified Mourinho’s earlier statement before the start of the league season that the club will struggle. Had it been that Harry Maguire or Alderweireld were landed, the club would at least be solid at the back. Manchester united defense have been penetrated 6 times in two consecutive games, and this is not a good statistic for a team that wishes to fight the Premier league.
With the Premier league window closed, the two parties will need to find amicable solutions to the problems to avoid a disastrous first half of the new league season. Ed Woodward and Manchester board must own up to their transfer mistake. The club management must allow Jose Mourinho play his style football which he is known for. Mourinho who is known for negative football must revert back to his traditional 4-2-3-1 formation.